From a letter to Pat Parker

A year seems like a lot of time now at this end—it isn’t. It took me three years to reclaim my full flow. Don’t lose your sense of urgency on the one hand, on the other, don’t be too hard on yourself—or expect too much.

Beware the terror of not producing.

Beware the urge to justify your decision.

Watch out for the kitchen sink and the plumbing and that painting that always needed being done. But remember the body needs to create too.

Beware feeling you’re not good enough to deserve it

Beware feeling you’re too good to need it

Beware all that hatred you’ve stored up inside you, and the locks on your tender places.

“Things you must beware of right now—” excerpted from Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker 1974-1989 (A Midsummer Night’s Press / Sinister Wisdom, 2018). All rights reserved. Used with permission.